Zoogeographic Regions

Traveling about Earth, it is manifest, even to the most casual of observers, that animal life has significant differences at scales of continents and large parts of continents. The concept of zoogeographic regions is explanatory of the animal geography of the planet. Rather than being controlled by the plant environment, a zoogeographic region is a large area based on forms of animals (taxonomy) and the evolutionary connections (phylogenetic relations) between them. The taxonomical hierarchy within the animal kingdom ranges from general to specific: phyla, class, order, family, genus, and species. Zoogeographic regions are focused on the nature of vertebrate families and species unique to that region. Vertebrates are those animals possessing backbones surrounding their nerve chords and include families of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles. That is, this regionalization is based on a minority of the animals present on the planet.

Rather than being thought of as exactly defined, zoogeographic regions are composites of the totality of animal life. The boundaries are dependent on major climate boundaries and/or distances over oceans. Considering other concepts such as the great amounts of time over which these families of animals have evolved, long-term changes in Earth’s systems such as climate change and continental drift have played roles in the present day configuration of the zoogeographic regions.

Alfred Russel Wallace was, with Charles Darwin, one of the first two “cofounders” of the theory of evolution. Wallace was a naturalist and geographer and is the acknowledged scientific father of animal geography (zoogeography). In the 1850s he was on an expedition collecting animal specimens in the Malay Archipelago. He noticed that between the Malay islands and the nearby Celebes there was a significant divide in the taxonomy. To the west, the animals were similar to what was known in Asia and to the east the species more resembled those in Australia. This distinction was so marked over a few tens of kilometers that it became known as “Wallace’s Line.” This discovery inspired Wallace to study the rest of the world to identify major zoogeographic boundaries.

Bordeaux

BORDEAUX IS THE eighth-largest city in FRANCE, and the capital of the historic southwestern province of Aquitaine. Bordeaux is also considered the wine capital of the world, and has been famous for its viticulture since the days of the Roman Empire. Unlike other major French cities, Bordeaux is not known for its energetic lifestyle or major industrial output; instead, the Bordelais take pride in their region’s more relaxed pace of life and the spirit of elegance and refinement that characterizes much of the city and the region.

The city of Bordeaux arose as a Gallo-Roman port (Burdigala) on the river Garonne at the head of the large estuary the Gironde, which flows into the ATLANTIC OCEAN about 56 mi (90 km) to the northwest. It became the chief city of Aquitaine from the early Middle Ages, before this region became part of the kingdom of France. In fact, from 1152 to 1453, Bordeaux was an English city, the jewel in a string of French possessions held by the English kings until they were finally chased out at the end of the Hundred Years’ War. Even after this date, Bordeaux remained the chief supplier of wine to England and other northern European states.

The city’s wealth continued to grow with the development of Atlantic sea trade in the 17th century, primarily through the growth of refineries for sugar, which arrived in Bordeaux’s ports directly from France’s colonies in the West Indies. Revenues from the sugar and wine industries reshaped the city, which underwent a massive urban renewal in the 18th century, resulting in much of the city’s present appearance, notably the Place Royale (today’s Place de la Bourse) and the Grand Théâtre.

Bolivia

BOLIVIA IS A COMPLEX and fascinating country. Located in the center of South America, it shares borders with five countries: ARGENTINA, BRAZIL, CHILE, PARAGUAY, and PERU. After the War of the Pacific (1879–84) against Chile, Bolivia lost access to the PACIFIC OCEAN and became, along with Paraguay, one of the two LANDLOCKED states in the Americas. Since then,

the question of Bolivia’s access to the sea has remained a central diplomatic and economic issue in the region. In addition, in 1935, during the Chaco War against Paraguay, Bolivia lost substantial claims to the Chaco territory.

Bolivia is a contradictory country. While it is extremely rich in natural resources, including some of the largest reserves of natural gas and tin, it has acute social and economic tensions. The country’s economic vulnerability, its cycles of boom-and-bust, and its traditional dependence on the external market have intensified social inequality. At the beginning of the 21st century, with two-thirds of the country’s population living in poverty, a third of which falls below the poverty level, Bolivia is one of the poorest nations on the continent. After a short period of economic growth in the 1990s, the economy slowed down as result of the Asian economic crisis, and social and political tensions have consistently increased.

Geography and the environment have shaped the history of Bolivia. Bolivia has three distinctive geographical regions: the highlands or ALTIPLANO (high plateau), the transitional sub-Andean, and the tropical lowlands. The majority of the Bolivian population has historically lived in the Altiplano, between 12,000 ft (3,657 m) and 13,000 ft (3,962 m) above sea level. The altitude has posed enormous challenges.

Bokkara

BOKKARA (ALSO BUKHARA) is a city that lies on the SILK ROAD of Central Asia in the Asian republic of UZBEKISTAN. Its name, bestowed by its Sogdian occupiers in the 3rd century B.C.E., derives from the Sanskrit word vikhara, meaning “monastery.” Bokkara lies in the ARAL SEA basin and was founded some 3,000 years ago by the Persian Prince Siyavush of the Syavushid dynasty on a hill in the Kyzl Kum, a desert region in the northern foothills of the Pamir/TIAN SHAN MOUNTAINS.

It enjoys a continental climate of cold winters and hot summers. The annual temperature regime varies from 5 degrees F (-15 degrees C) in January to 126 degrees F (52 degrees C) in July and receives less than 8 in (20 cm) of precipitation per year.

Culturally, Bokkara has experienced many influences because of its location at the crossroads of Asia. The Achaemenids of Persia captured Bokkara 2,600 years ago, it was taken by Alexander the Great in 329 B.C.E., and then by the Sogdians from the Fergana and Zerafshan valleys to the east. At this time, Zoroastrianism, a belief system involving fire worship, was practiced. However, with the arrival of the Arabs, the city changed and ISLAM was introduced.

Black Sea

THE BLACK SEA IS a body of salt water that stretches 630 mi (1,014 km) from east to west. TURKEY faces its southern shore, BULGARIA and ROMANIA lie west of the Black Sea, and UKRAINE, RUSSIA, and GEORGIA border it to the north, northeast, and east, respectively. The Black Sea stretches 330 mi (530 km) from north to south, except between the Crimean Peninsula and Turkey, where it cinches to 144 mi (232 km).

From the southwest, the Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, and to the north, just east of the Crimean Peninsula, the Kerch Strait leads to the Sea of Azov. The CAUCASUS MOUNTAINS line the northeastern edge of the Black Sea; the Pontic Mountains are to the south. The Black Sea is usually considered the boundary between Europe and Asia. At its deepest point, the Black Sea reaches a depth of 7,218 ft (2,200 m). It has an area of 262,840 square mi (683,000 square km). Below 660 ft (200 m), the water holds no oxygen, and the Black Sea is therefore the largest anoxic basin in world, with about 90 percent of its water permanently anaerobic. The Black Sea figures in myth and history, dating back thousands of years. In the Voyage of the Argonauts, Jason sails through the narrow Bosporus, with shifting walls that threaten to crush his ship, into the Black Sea.

The sea, named “black” by the Turks for its storms, was the trade passage to Asia for the Egyptians and Greeks. It was important to the growth of Byzantium (now Istanbul) from 600 B.C.E. through the time of the Crusades, when the Byzantine Empire was finally destroyed. The Ottoman Turks controlled the Black Sea from 1453 to 1774.

Biosphere

THE ENVIRONMENT of the Earth can be broadly divided into four major systems: the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere. Russian scientist Vladimir Vernadsky coined the term biosphere in 1929. The term refers to the life zone of Earth that includes the air, land, and water occupied by all organisms including humans. This life zone distinguishes our planet from all others in the solar system.

The biosphere fulfills several important functions and processes to sustain life. These processes include the ways that solar energy and PRECIPITATION control biotic productivity, the interactions among various life forms, and how life forms have spread over the Earth’s surface and adapted to various habitats. These processes are not limited to only the biosphere, but are the result of complex interactions between all the major systems (the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere).

For example, the biosphere is both a source and sink for several important atmospheric trace gases and environmental pollutants (methane and nitrous oxide, for example). It is an essential factor in determining the budget, abundance, and distribution of trace gases in the atmosphere. Different types of forests create different atmospheric conditions that influence climate and ecosystem functioning. Chemical reactions critical to both life and atmospheric processes include photosynthesis and respiration.

Water is essential for all living organisms, and the biosphere plays a crucial role in the transportation, transformation, and redistribution of water on local and regional scales. In terrestrial ecosystems, vegetation plays the primary role in transferring water from the soil to the atmosphere. The biota exerts measurable effects on water quality through recycling of nutrients and absorption of air and water pollutants. Biospheric processes are also evident in the lithosphere. Root growth and the generation of organic acids aid in chemical and mechanical weathering of soils and geologic materials. Decomposition of organic material add nutrients to the soil.

Bioreserve

BIORESERVES, also known as BIOSPHERE reserves, are an internationally recognized type of conservation reserve. In 1970, the 16th General Conference of UNESCO (part of the United Nations), acting on the recommendations of the conference, launched the long-term intergovernmental and interdisciplinary program known as Man and the Biosphere (MAB). Crucial for the program was a project for the conservation of natural areas and of the genetic material they contain, which included the development of a coordinated worldwide network of protected areas, linked by international understanding on purposes, and standards, and exchange of scientific information.

These include biosphere reserves that contained representative land and coastal areas of each of the major or otherwise relevant ECOSYSTEMS within a nation’s boundaries. The biospheres could be used as basic logistical resources for research, as areas for education and training, and as essential components for the study of many projects under the overall program, including a role of benchmarks or standards for measurement of long-term changes in the biosphere as a whole.

In the design of criteria for the identification of biosphere reserves, special attention was paid to the embodiment of ecological and genetic principles of nature conservation, and thus the shape and size of reserves were considered important. In addition, criteria were determined for establishing a network of baseline monitoring stations in representative undisturbed biome areas throughout the world to serve as benchmarks or standards for assessing change. Unlike many other forms of conservation reserve, biosphere reserves are intended to not only include natural ecosystems within national parks and wilderness areas but also seminatural systems, including, for instance, those maintained by long-established land-use practice. 

Each biosphere reserve should include one or more of the following categories: representative examples of natural biomes; unique communities or areas with unusual natural features of exceptional interest; examples of harmonious landscapes resulting from traditional patterns of land use; and examples of modified or degraded ecosystems capable of being restored to more natural conditions. Each biosphere reserve should be large enough to be an effective conservation unit with long-term legal protection and to accommodate different uses without conflict. In some cases biosphere reserves coincide with or incorporate existing or proposed protected areas, such as national parks, sanctuaries, or nature reserves.